One of the speakers addressing the commission said he’d like to ask people in attendance if they thought the map was fair or not by a show of hands. Those opposing the current draft map have raised their hands. Almost all the concerned citizens at the meeting opposed the current redistricting map.

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Legislative maps draw criticism

The Independent Redistricting Commission’s proposed congressional and state legislative maps that fragment Gila County among multiple districts drew almost universal condemnation Wednesday during a hearing in Payson.
Driven by the need to protect the clout of Hispanic and Native American voters, the commission’s proposed map would split the 50,000 Gila County residents among three different state legislative districts and two different congressional districts.
Voters established the independent commission in 2000 to prevent the party in power from gerrymandering district lines to benefit one party over another.